Anello De Fuoco
Around this time in 1497, in the middle of Florence’s Piazza Della Signoria, a Dominican priest named Savonarola had a pile of Renaissance treasures set ablaze. Learn about the famous bonfire, then kick back with the conflagrant drink it inspired.
“Anello De Fuoco,” as created Scott Baird, partner at 15 Romolo in San Francisco’s molto bella North Beach neighborhood:
In a mixing glass, add:
- 1 dash Angostura orange bitters
- 3/4 oz. Vin Santo dessert wine (aka “Saint’s Wine”)
- 1 oz. Vergano Americano (or substitute 1 oz. Nonino Amarro)
- 1.5 oz. Cognac (doesn’t have to be the best, but avoid the worst)
- ice
Stir until diluted to taste. Strain into a chilled 4.5-to-6 oz. martini glass.
From an organic orange, cut a disc-shaped slice of peel, being careful not to cut past pith into the actual fruit. Light a wooden match and warm the orange side of the peel, then position the match between the drink and the peel — overall distance from drink to peel should be 3 to 4 inches. Flex fruit in half to shoot oils through the lit match and into the cocktail. Or make like Botticelli and aim it at an irreplacable example of your own art.
